I think the main problem is that we release every once in a blue moon, party, and then sit back and relax while two years pass.

The release schedule for the Next Release should be announced right after the previous release. It shouldn't be final, but it should be there, so that Developers know what the plan is and can avoid delaying the release by uploading experimental packages on the wrong moment, "because we're not close to release anyway".

Right now, the release team sends out Release Updates every once in a while, which is good; but they should not stop doing so when the release is out.